DRAMATIST’s DESCRIPTION:
Mustafa Afridi, the innovative and analytical screenwriter and an intermittent actor, was born on 1st January 1970 in Dera Ismail Khan, KPK. He joined urdu television industry soon after being graduated from National Academy for Performing Arts. Just in few years, he established himself as the Pakistan’s top scriptwriter. He has written many evocative and expressive dramas on the societal issues. He expressed the poignant issues of society through his hard-hitting and socially conscious dramas: Firaaq(2014), Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016), Yeh Raha Dil (2017), Sang-e-Mah(2022) and Tan Man Neelo Neel (2024). He is one of the Best and meticulous dramatists in industry.
INTRODUCTION:
“Tan Man Neelo Neel”, a mismerizing and spillbinding drama, expressing the mob violence on the nominal and putative blasphemies, brought into black and white by Mustafa Afridi, which is based on reality. It was directed by Saif Hassan and produced by Sultana Siddique. This reality based drama expresses the brutalities and cruelities posed in the name of Islam and other religions. The religious principle are not that much strict as their followers have made it. The heart-Wrenching and heart-felt drama “Tan Man Neelo Neel” exposes the false blasphemy accusations and killing and carnage of innocents in the so-called Islamic state.
SUMMARY:
The drama “Tan Man Neelo Neel” revolves around three main Characters. Seher khan takes on the role as Rabi— a committed journalist and a vlogger, Shuja Asad acts as Suno and Ali Ammar as Moon. Both of them serve as dancers in the drama. They with their dancing team dance to meet their needs. However, the ruling elite, Saleem mairaj performs as Qaiser, as usual, fish in troubled water. Suno and Moon, who are called to a marriage ceremony of Qaiser’s friend to entertain the audiences. When Moon asks for the advanved money, he is physically tortured and sexually harassed by him. On the flipping hand, Moon remains silence because of being impoverished and pitiful. Moreover, Rabi, Suno and Moon, possessing exceptional and versatile talents, decide to have their own company (RASM رسم). The purpose of this company was to see all the managements of wedding ceremonies, along with dance performances and photography. However, a vedio is played on the stage where Suno is doing Raks infront of Sikh’s ancient place of worship, leaving all the people shocked. On the spot, by making use of this thing Kami, Muhammd Usman Javid, narrow minded cousin of Rabi, chants that this is against the Islamic Shariah and he says that Suno is desecreting the holy house of Allah. He provokes the people not be silence on this blasphemy due to which they take over the justice in their hands on the false accusation and shed the innocents’ blood and kill them ruthlessly.
THEMES:
SO-CALLED RELIGION: Osho asserts, “Yes, I am against all the so called religions because they are not religions at all. I am from religion but not for the religions.” A genuine and true religion is one that grants freedom and makes a person independent. However, in today’s world, scholars have turned religion into a chain around the neck. Islam does not say that those who dance, sing, and work to earn a living should be subjected to death. Islam says that whoever kills an innocent person kills all of humanity, but this teaching has been neglected by the so-called Islamists.
EXPLOITATION:
People say that power leads to corruption, but in reality, it is the authority one holds that corrupts. The ruling elites and the dominant class manipulate their authority and power in harmful ways. This is evident in the case of Moon, who was subjected to sexual exploitation by Qaiser when he demanded his rights. As Noam Chomsky states, “The ruling elites fear nothing more than a people who demand their rights.” This scene clearly illustrates that truth.
RAQS:
Raqs is the way of celeberating the mirthful and beautiful moments. As Rumi says, “when the soul is happy, it begins to dance.” However, in drama when suno performs dance (Raqs), he is accussed for the blasphemy. Nevertheless, Islam does not forbid Raqs because when Hazrat Muammad (S.A.W) migrated to Madina, he was welcomed with Raqs and poetry. Sufis also lose them in dance to discover the truth of existence. Raqs is the beautiful element to peace.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The enchanting drama “Tan Man Neelo Neel” beautifully captures the poignant and overwhelming societal issues which is completely based on reality. This drama was based on the melancholic incidents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where Mashal Khan, the student of Abdul Wali khan university Mardan was killed and then burnt on fabricated blasphemy charge that he has posted heretical content online in 2017. Similarly, the two brothers Muneeb Butt and Mughees Butt were killed on 15 August 2010 in Sialkot on charges of robbery and murder. However, these all accusations proved to be wrong. It is crystal clear that Pakistan is motivated by antagonism towards the so-called religious violence sects. The blaspehmy laws in Pakistan stretch back to 1860 when British introduced it to control religious violence and later in 1977, it was amended by Zia-ul-Haq. However, no-one is yet penalized under these laws and policy. According to the research conducted, from 1967 to 2014 over 1300 people were accused of blaspehemies in Pakistan. Truly, Osho says, “There is no true religion yet; if there were a true religion, there would be religiousity.”
CONCLUSION:
The drama Tan Man Neelo Neel, written by Mustafa Afridi, is sentimental and stirring, yet realistic and sensible. It delicately unveils the heartfelt controversies of society, often sowed in the name of religion.
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